NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Will Levis’ wide eyes and Incredible Hulk-like flex said it all.
The Tennessee Titans had done something rare as Derrick Henry’s 3-yard touchdown run put them ahead for good and sealed a come-from-behind win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 14 of the 2023 season.
“Anytime you get a win like that, the response … that’s appropriate,” Levis said.
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It was the second-most statistically improbable comeback since 2014, when Next Gen Stats began tracking the stat. The Titans’ win probability dipped as low as 0.4% after they fell behind 27-13 late in the fourth quarter, according to Next Gen Stats. The Titans, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, were the first team to win in regulation after trailing by 14 or more points with fewer than three minutes remaining since the Raiders trailed the Steelers 28-14 and won 31-28 in 1976.
It was Levis’ first career comeback victory and the first time a rookie threw for 300 or more yards on “Monday Night Football.” His 327 passing yards in that game remain a career high. It seemed as if the Titans had found their franchise quarterback after he won a shootout against Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa — whose 4,624 passing yards led the NFL last season.
The loss was part of the reason the Dolphins fell short of the AFC East crown. They came into that game with a 9-3 record, but went 2-2 (including their loss to the Titans) over the next four weeks leading up their Week 18 showdown with the Buffalo Bills with the division on the line (a game Miami also lost). Instead of hosting a playoff game, the Dolphins would have to face the eventual Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs on the road in the wild-card round.
Like last season, a win over the Dolphins on “Monday Night Football” is something the Titans (0-3) desperately need.
“Anytime you play on Monday night, regardless of where it is, that whole world’s watching, it gives a little bit of extra excitement,” Levis said. “So we got that, and that was a good one for us. We’re just hoping to go get another one down there, and obviously at this point of our season where we really need one.”
Things are a lot different leading into the rematch at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Titans coach Brian Callahan has replaced Mike Vrabel and Henry is with Baltimore. And for the Dolphins (1-2), newly acquired quarterback Tyler Huntley will be under center instead of Tagovailoa, whose future is in question after he suffered a concussion in a Week 2 loss to the Bills.
“We’ve got to exorcise those demons to an extent, but every year is different,” Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said. “This is an entirely new team. There is a bunch of us that weren’t a part of it at all, but the guys that were here, we know that we want to go make it right this week.
“They have a new team, new staff, new coordinators, new players — same thing here, but those two logos, we know what this means.”
Here is a look at the last time these two teams met:
Neill/Getty Images
6:53, second quarter (Dolphins 7, Titans 7): Bradley Chubb’s unsportsmanlike conduct penalty extends drive (21.6% win probability for Titans, according to ESPN Research)
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